To Be One in Christ:We Have Treasure in the Jars of Clay(22)I

To Be One in Christ: We Have Treasure in the Jars of Clay -- the Series of Explanation and Analysis of Scripture (22) - part I

The Explanation and Analysis of the Verses in JUDE

It is edited and compiled under the guidance of Holy Spirit. All thanks, praises and glories be to God!

1. Foreword (1-2)

(1) What the author calls himself (1_upper)

JUDE 1:1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ:

(NOTES)

Here, Jude uses this simple verse to introduce himself. When he calls himself, he deliberately does not mention his relationship in body as the brother of Jesus, for the apostle pays more attention to that he himself is the servant of Jesus. If he is only related to LORD in the body of flesh without any contact with LORD spiritually, the relationship in the body of flesh can not save him, no mention about any glory to him. Although when LORD was on earth, Jude had not believed in LORD (Joh 7:5), now he called himself the servant of LORD. Not only he believes in Him, but also he serves Him and follows His commands.

He calls himself in this way; this will enhance the believers’ knowledge that Christ is the true God. It is because when Jude knew that Jesus Christ is the Son of God Most High, he did not look upon Jesus according to the relationship in body any more. Jesus Christ is God, and is the LORD; while he himself is the same as other believers who are the servants of Christ. He calls himself in this way to show that he acknowledges that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; he himself is not worthy to say anything according to the relationship in the body. He only stands on the status of a servant to encourage the believers according to the will of LORD Jesus. He considers it more honorable to be as the servant of LORD than as a brother of LORD in the body of flesh.

Jude puts the note that he is “a brother of James” in case he might be confused with someone else who has the same name. This also shows his respect to the work of James, and knows that James is the one who is trusted by the church. It is his joy that his brother receives the grace in such a way. Note that in the letter of James, he did not mention that he is “a brother of Jude”. It seems that James is more well known by all the churches than Jude.

(2) Regarding those who receive the letter (1_latter)

Here, it does not mention the name of any local church, but is given to the believers generally. Thus, it is to generally remind the believers of the truth what they should pay attention to, such as the salvation of the individual and the conquest of sins and evils by the individual and so on. Here, there are three appellations to those who receive the letter:

A. Those who have been called (1_latter)

The believers have been called out of the sinful and evil world by God. “who have been called”; shows that they leave the old place to a new place; and are away from the old status to enter the new status. Therefore, “who have been called”; refer to those who are set apart to be consecrated, to be selected, and to be called to enter a new category. The believers should not forget that we are those who are called and selected by God, and we should not wallow in the mire with the world.

In the letter of Peter, it pays special attention to the calling of the saints, so that to let us see the purpose that God call us, is to let us be holy (1Pe 1:15-16), declare the praises of God (1Pe 2:9), suffer for doing good (1Pe 2:20-21), bless those who insult us (1Pe 3:9), and call us to His eternal glory in Christ (1Pe 5:10). In the letters of Paul, the apostle also encourages the believers to live a life worthy of the calling we have received (Eph 4:1), “to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. ”(1Th 2:12), and to “fight the good fight of the faith” (1Ti 6:12). Do you hear the calling of God? The love and kindness of God calls us to be away from sins and evils, to live a holy life, to keep away from the life in accordance with the sinful nature, to live a life obeying the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and to leave the secular vanity and enter the truth. Let us respect more this honored status; let us answer more the call of God; and let us not only be called, but also be selected (Mat 22:14).

B. Those who have been loved by God the Father (1_latter)

We are called because of the great love of God. Then, how should those who are loved live for God who love us? We should remain in His love to accept His love, walk in His light to have fellowship with Him, and live a life of being loved. Those who do not have fellowship with Him in the light and do not live in His will, live outside the circle of being loved.

C. Those who have been kept by Jesus Christ (1_latter)

Here, the apostle let us see that the believers are not only called and loved by God, but also are kept by Christ. LORD not only saved us, but also keeps us, so that we will see God without being shameful. When LORD was about to leave the world, he prayed that: “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name--the name you gave me--so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. ” (Joh 17:11-12; Jud 15) Other letters also mention the protection from LORD (1Th 5:23; 1Pe 1:5); in verse (1:24) of this letter, it mentions again that LORD keeps us from falling.

Why here emphasizes this point so much? It is because the believers can overcome all kinds of temptations, and stand firm on the truth of LORD, not through their own effort, but through being kept by Jesus Christ. To rely on the guard of LORD does not mean that we can indulge ourselves; if we indulge ourselves in sins and evils, that will be equal to the rejection of the guard of God. We must use our freewill to choose LORD and be willing to stand on the side of LORD, but not on the side of the world of sins and evils, so that to be kept by LORD and not to fall into the net of sins and evils. Just as verse (Heb 7:25) says: “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. ”

(3) Blessings (2)

JUDE 1:2 Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.

(NOTES)

In the greetings, such as in (2Ti 1:2; Joh 2:3), the “mercy” is mentioned. The “mercy” is close to “grace” in other letters. It is because we receive the grace from God based on the mercy of God. Although God is full of power and wisdom, He has mercy on people and He is willing to give the grace to us, so that we can enjoy the peace in Him. Therefore, we should know the love and kindness of God. The peace of God is given to all those who receive the mercy of God. If one refuses the mercy and grace from God, he won’t get peace from God. When Christ came to earth, there were the angels praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” (Luk 2:14) The peace is given to those on whom His favor rests; that is, those who receive His mercy and whose sins are forgiven. Therefore, if one wants to get the peace of God, he must receive the mercy of God; then, he will get more love and kindness from God, and give it to those who have not receive God.

Here, “be yours in abundance”; this usage is similar to what is in 2 Peter. It is because for the believers especially in the circumstance at that time, they need to receive more peace and love from God. Not only we can get the peace from God, but also we can get it in abundance and also show the love of God in abundance.

2. The principal purpose (3-4)

(1) The eagerness of Jude (3)

JUDE 1:3 Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.

(NOTES)

“although I was very eager to write to you ”:

Writing the letters is one of the most important work of the apostles or the servants of God in the church of the initial stage. Although the transportation at that time is so inconvenient, and the letter needs to be brought on the people to pass on, which is much less convenient than today. However, besides preaching orally, the apostles tried their best to write to encourage the believers. It is obvious that at the initial stage of the church, they paid close attention to the work of writing.

Why Jude said that he was very eager to write to them and encourage them? It is because they are whom he loves; Jude called them his brothers, not only with words, but also with true love. He was so eager to write to them and encourage them; this proves his love. When you see those whom you love are tempted away from the truth, you will try your best to stop them and save them. On the contrary, if you are careless about them, and do not remind, warn and stop them, that proves that you do not love them. Although it is ordinary to write the letter, Jude would try his best to write. This means that he would try to use the most proper words to illustrate the truth, point out the errors, so that to help the believers. This is the attitude of a faithful servant of God toward the work of God. Jude is a worker who has the sense of responsibility.

“although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write…”:

It is obvious that Jude used to work in those who received the letter. Therefore, here, he recalled how they had received the salvation together before, and how God give grace to them! When he thought about this, Jude had to write to them, in case that they might be unworthy of the grace of God, and he was also afraid that their labor and work before might suffer a loss. He had the eagerness that he had to say when the flock of God are tempted, and the brothers are misled on the truth. The inspirations of his conscience and the Holy Spirit do not allow him to pretend to be deaf and dumb.

“the salvation we share”:

These words not only recall the grace they received before, but also show that Jude and those who received the letter have the same relationship, which is that they are all the children of God; and they have the “blood relationship” spiritually. Therefore, he was duty-bound to write to exhort the believers, so that they will not be trapped on the wrong way.

Although they share the same salvation, some make progress, while some retreat; some exhort others, and some are exhorted; there are even some are tempted, and some help others to overcome the temptations.

“contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. ”:

What does “once for all” refer to? It is not clearly pointed out here. According to the last chapter in Matthew and Mark, also (Act 1:8), before Christ was exalted to the heaven, He commanded the disciples to preach Gospel to the whole world; it seems that this is when LORD entrusted the faith to the saints once for all. However, according to the context, it refers to the whole content of Gospel of our faith. This Gospel is accomplished by Christ once for all. His death accomplished the salvation forever once for all. This work of salvation that has been accomplished once for all, makes us have the right to be the children of God and enjoy all kinds of heavenly blessings. All of this is the content of our faith, which is the faith that was entrusted to the saints once for all. Generally speaking, the salvation has been accomplished by Christ once for all, and has been received by the church once for all. Therefore, after Christ was exalted to the heaven, the content of the faith and the responsibility to preach the truth, have been entrusted to the church. We are responsible to contend for the faith and do not let other heresy to lead the believers to go astray. Therefore, Jude contended for it. This has no concern with the personal opinion, or the different viewpoints about part of the Bible, but is about the basic doctrine of our faith regarding the fact of the whole salvation from Christ; that is the overall complete truth of the Bible. It is because the revelation of the whole Bible is centered at the salvation from Christ. The appearance of the heresy will cause the church to wander from the truth. However, it is also the best chance to test the servants of God on their faith, courage, wisdom and spiritual life.

The faith is not a theology, but includes the life and the conducts; the truth faith can not be separated from the life and conducts. The believers at that time were disturbed by the false teachers; they thought that the faith and life can be separated; and they can indulge in the sinful nature while believe in the One true God at the same time. Thus, the truth is confused completely. Therefore, the following text especially points out the error of the false teachers and their sins and evils. Those who take the grace of God as the chance to indulge in the sinful nature, will be judged by God on what they do.

Here, the apostle contended for the truth; he did not reproach or contend through the way of blood and flesh, or especially point to anyone with the emotion of the sinful nature; but he contended according to the truth, not only to overcome orally, but also to give the testimony on his own practical life, and to show the gentleness of Christ and illustrate the truth without any fierce word. He made such efforts to contend for the truth and also keep the proper manner; it is obvious that he had both thorough knowledge of the truth and a sincere heart of loving LORD. Many believers often argue about their own fault, but ignore that a more important responsibility of us nowadays is to contend for the faith that was entrusted to the saints once for all, and illuminate the true achievements and significance of the Gospel of Christ.

(2) The dangers of the false teachers (4)

This verse continues to point out why he made such efforts to write to the believers; the reason is that the false teachers appear in the church and have bad influence in the church. According to this verse, it is known that the situations of the false teachers are:

A. Slip in secretly (4)

JUDE 1:4 For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

(NOTES)

Their actions are not in the light. They did not enter the church according to the proper way and with proper motives, not really for the sake of receiving the savior for their own sins to come to the church. Therefore, it says that they “have secretly slipped in”. In (Eph 5:8-9): “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) .” The Christians should walk in the light; anything that is dark and can not be exposed to the light, has the intergradient of sins. While these false teachers entered the church with unclear motives. Although their motives are impure, the way that they take is not easy to be aware by others. They became a member of the church, even became a ministry in the church without being aware, noticed, or distinguished by others.

B. Whose condemnation was written about long ago (4)

Their doom was predicted long ago. The similar words are also mentioned in (2Pe 2:3), which means that what they do are condemned by God long ago.

Since God had established the rule that the sins and evils must be punished, those who not only do sins, but also make light of the truth of the salvation and do not repent sincerely, but instead, using the truth to achieve their goal of the sinful nature, are certainly condemned long ago.

C. Who are godless (4)

In (Rom 1:18), it says: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,” What are said here fit these people well. The Bible considers all those who trust in and obey God as the godly people, and consider those who disbelieve and refuse the salvation of God, and who disobey God, as the godless people. Just as in (2Pe 2:9), when talking about the two sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot is called the godly man, while the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are called the ungodly people (2Pe 2:6-9). Therefore, godlessness means that one is not reverent to God, does not trust in and obey God, and does not fear God!

D. who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality (4)

They do not understand the true meaning of the salvation of God; they misunderstand the grace of God and misuse the chance of repentance that God give to people. They do not believe in LORD from the very beginning; since they do not have a pure heart, it is easy for them to change the grace of our God into a license for immorality. In their filthy minds, they only wish for a way by which they can sin while can deceive their conscience at the same time. As a result, they destroy themselves and also the church.

E. who deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord

This verse shows clearly that they are not saved. In (2Pe 2:1), it also mentions that there will be false teachers in the church, for they deny LORD who redeemed them. Note that, here, it is saying that they deny the only LORD, but not deny LORD. These false teachers might admit that Jesus is LORD, while also admit other “lords”. They put other religions together with the only Savior, to dilute the only salvation from Christ, and to give the authority of the only true God to other worldly man-made religions.

“only Sovereign and Lord”:

He is not only our Savior, but also is our Sovereign LORD, who is in charge of everything of us. While these false teachers do not submit to the spiritual authority of Christ. Although they are “Christians” outwardly, they are actually against His authority and do not take Him as the LORD, and even take the devil and their own sinful nature as the lord.

3. The citations (5-11)

In verses 5-11, the apostle gives some practical examples. That is, in the history of the Israelites in ancient time, some people’s deeds are similar to the false teachers. They are punished by God. These examples can be taken as the object lessons for the believers so that to make them know that they should not follow those false teachers, in case they fall and get lost on the way of truth.

Although this letter is a book to debate on the truth, there is no large sheet of theories. It only cites many historical facts as the main content. Then, he exhorts the believers by commenting on these historical facts. This is a most powerful and effective way to let the believers know what they need to make clear about. It is because in this way, the believers will understand the truth and falsehood, also the corruption of people and the love and kindness of God from the historical living examples.

(1) The Israelites (5)

JUDE 1:5 Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe.

(NOTES)

The Israelites went out of Egypt; it is the salvation by the great power of God in the Old Testament, and is the typology and object lesson of the salvation of the believers in the New Testament (Heb 3:7-19). However, as to those Israelites who were out of Egypt, because of their disbelief, they wandered in the desert for forty years and fell to die in the desert finally. In this verse, it especially indicates that when they reached Kadesh, they listened to the bad report of the spies and grumbled aloud, even wanted to stone Moses and get back to Egypt. God got angry at them and did not allow them to enter the Canaan. They were punished to wander in the desert for forty years, until all twenty years older or more of that generation fell to die in the desert. According to the record in (Heb 3:9-19), the reason that the Israelites fell to die in the desert is not only because of their disbelief and grumbling aloud once at that time, but because in all the forty years, they were filled with temptations, unbelief and grumblings. Here, the purpose to give this example is:

A. It is to warn the believers that they must not think that God will tolerate sins and evils, and they should not be like the false teachers to change the grace of God into the chance to indulge in the sinful nature. And they should not be like those Israelites who were unworthy of the grace of God and indulged in their sinful desires in the desert (1Co 10:6-8). Although God used a lot of time and plans to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, it is not to give them chance to indulge in the selfish desires, but is to let them be the holy people. However, they finally fell to die in the desert because of their unbelief. Therefore, whoever goes to the way against God will be disciplined and punished. Even to the 600,000 Israelites, God did this, no mention about one or two persons! God absolutely does not tolerate sins and evils.

B. Do not have the minds of test like the Israelites, who thought that God won’t punish them that fast. Although they have heard about many things about how God punish sins and evils, they still grumble a lot. Here, the apostle points out that the deeds of the false teachers are the same as these Israelites. Since they do not have faith and test God, and they hope to escape from the investigation of God by chance, and seek the financial gain through the false godliness, these people won’t escape the judgment of God.

(2) The angels (6)

JUDE 1:6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home--these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.

(NOTES)

If this verse is explained according to itself, it is very simple, which means: there are some angels who are kept in the darkness and wait for the judgment of God.

“And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home”:

Here, “position” refers to the place, status, post and duty. “did not keep their positions of authority”; that is, they went beyond the category that God allowed them. “but abandoned their own home”; it is not saying that they were driven out by God and left the heaven where God dwells in; but it pays attention to their action to abandon their positions of authority and leave God. Therefore, these two verses explain how these angels disobeyed God and resisted the management of God; and they have been kept in the darkness. However, here, it does not explain how they rebelled. One explanation is to connect verse (Gen 6:1-4) with this verse. In (Gen 6:1-4), the sons of God might refer to these angels who did not keep their positions of authority and abandoned there own home, and went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.

Regarding things about the angels mentioned in the book of Jude, there are similar record in (2Pe 2:4):

A. There were some angels did not keep their positions of authority and were against God.

B. They were bound with everlasting chains.

C. They were kept in the “gloomy dungeons” (2Pe 2:4), but not the hade. Where is this dungeon? It is not explained in the Bible.

D. They have not been judged, but are held for judgment in the future.

E. These angels are not the devil, or the evil spirits who are still working now, for they have been detained already, while the evil spirits of the devil have not been detained yet.

(3) Sodom and Gomorrah (7-8)

JUDE 1:7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

(NOTES)

Here, another example is given on the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. These two cities represent the lusts of the world. The distinct sins and evils of them is sexual immorality. From chapter 19 of Genesis, the angels went with orders to destroy these two cities. They were at Lot’s home first. The people in the city even wanted Lot to turn in the angels for them to insult; it is obvious how sexual promiscuous the people were at that time. Here, it is saying that the sins that committed by the false teachers and false brothers with their indulgence in the lusts, are the same as those people of Sodom and Gomorrah .

“gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion”:

Here, they refer to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. “gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion”; according to the creation of God, it is normal for people to have the desires, and it does not sin to satisfy one’s normal desire in the proper way (Rom 1:26-27). However, as a result of falling of man, they often can not restrain their desires, such that their desires become abnormal and follow the “sexual immorality and perversion”. The so-called “sexual immorality and perversion” should refer to the homosexuality (Rom 1:26-27) or the perverse sexual crimes.

“They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire. ”:

Here, why the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is the punishment of eternal fire? It is correct that God sent fire from above to destroy these two cities; but here it says that it is the “eternal fire”. Therefore, it should refer to the fire of the hell. We should note that although the example here is about Sodom and Gomorrah, it actually refers to those people who committed sexual immorality and also sins and evils. Therefore, “eternal fire” does not indicate that these two cities received the “eternal fire”; but it indicates that the sinners in these two cities lost their chances to repent forever when the cities were destroyed. Therefore, they went to the eternal destruction and were punished by the eternal fire. The tolerance of God to the sins and evils of man has the boundary. When the time of repaying by God comes, there is no chance of repentance for the people any more and their life will be taken back. To die in such a way is the eternal destruction, and is the punishment of eternal fire. Therefore, regarding those people in the two cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, they entered “the punishment of eternal fire” because of the destruction of these two sin cities through the heavenly fire by God.

“as an example ”:

Here, it is saying that the judgment and punishment on the two cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by God is to warn the people in the later generations. If the worldly people sin like them, they will receive the same judgment and punishment. Therefore, this verse shows that the punishment that God put on Sodom and Gomorrah will be put on the sinful generations afterward. The judgment will come upon all who do sins.

JUDE 1:8 In the very same way, these dreamers pollute their own bodies, reject authority and slander celestial beings.

(NOTES)

“In the very same way, these dreamers pollute their own bodies,”:

“these” refer to the false teachers. “In the very same way” indicates to be in the same way of those people of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Bible calls the false teachers and brothers the “dreamers”. It means that their thoughts and dreams will disappear soon. What they plan will not last long and can not stand in front of God. “pollute their own bodies”; it refers to the sins and evils of sexual immorality and indulgence in the lusts mentioned above. These false teachers and preachers are unclean in the relationship of men and women.

“reject authority ”:

A proper explanation is that this refers to God or the authorities established by God, for no matter who he is, all the authorities come from God. Just as what Paul said to the church in Rome: “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. ” (Rom 13:1-2). Therefore, to “reject authority ” can be interpreted as that the false teachers reject the authority from God and those whom God give authority to, including the government on earth and those who are in power in the church. They reject the law of the local government, for what they do are often lawless and are not on the right path. They also reject the authority and teachings of the servants of God, and hinder the work of the servants of God in the church.

“slander celestial beings”:

It is also translated as “scoff at [heavenly] glories (the glorious ones)” (A.M.P.). “celestial beings” refer to those who are on the honored position. The false teachers do not obey the truth, and like to slander those who are on the honored position. As to all the heresies, they want the church to be away from the truth; they must disobey the authority of the truth first, and slander the servants of God or the leader of the church, to make them lose the trust from the believers, then use the wrong principles to make the believers to leave the teachings of the servants of God to listen to them.

(4) The body of Moses (9-10)

JUDE 1:9 But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"

(NOTES)

The Bible says that the archangel Michael has special relationship with the Jewish people and protects the Jewish kingdom (Dan 10:13; 12:1; Rev 12:7). Here, it mentions about the argument of archangel Michael for the body of Moses. This is not mentioned in other verses in the Old Testament or the New Testament. What is the exact background of this incident? There is no other record to refer to. According to (Deu 34:5-7), when Moses died, God buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, and no one knows where his grave is. Some scholars of the scripture based on the records outside the Bible, and said that the devil wanted to get the body of Moses with the reason that Moses killed someone before. Although Michael would not bear with such slander, he did not answer the devil with the slanderous words, and only said: “The Lord rebuke you!” There are some others guessed that the devil wanted to get the body of Moses to tempt the Israelites so that they will be trapped in the sins of idols. However, since the Bible does not give any other records on this, we can only consider the above explanations as the assumptions. Nevertheless, it is known from here that there are often fights in the spiritual world. In the book of Daniel, this kind of fight is also mentioned. Although the devil should be thrown into the lake of fire, since the time has not come, it is still making use of its time to do evils.

On the other hand, it is known from here that Michael is humble and kind. Although he faced the evil devil who overrates its own ability and makes troubles unreasonably, he did not say any malicious and reproaching words, but only glorified LORD and said humbly: “The Lord rebuke you!” His humility and glorifying God is in contrast to the wild arrogance of the devil. The worldly people often slander others to exalt themselves; that is indeed ignorant. If we argue with someone who like slandering others, we are not wise either. On the contrary, if we treat others with humble, gentle and kind attitude, that will show the evils of the other party.

JUDE 1:10 Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals--these are the very things that destroy them.

(NOTES)

“Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand;”:

These false teachers know nothing about the spiritual things, nor can they understand. Then, they slander others so that to cover their own ignorance.

“(speak abusively against) what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals”:

This verse explains clearly that the Bible looks on these people as the lifeless people. Besides the spiritual sense and understandings, the believers also have all the understandings of instinct. However, these false teachers even lose these conscience and instinct that they have when they were born , and lose the functions of the instinct. It is because their mind is evil and they misuse their instinct and knowledge. Therefore, it is saying that they speak abusively against what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals.

“these are the very things that destroy them”:

Refer to things mentioned above.

(5) Cain (11_upper)

JUDE 1:11 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam's error; they have been destroyed in Korah's rebellion.

(NOTES)

Here, the apostle points out that the biggest woe of the false teachers is that they go to a wrong way. The biggest loss of man’s life is not the sacrifice on money or materials, but is to choose a wrong way such that to destroy one’s own future of life and the spiritual future.

What is “the way of Cain”? Cain is the son of Adam, and used to kill his brother Abel. The reason that he killed Abel is because God was pleased with the offerings of Abel, but not his. Therefore, from the way of Cain, we can see two distinct characteristics: self-justification and jealous anger.

His self-justification was disclosed when God was not pleased with his offerings. Although from the viewpoint of people, he was angry because God was not pleased with his offerings; however, from the viewpoint of God, God saw that he had the self-justification long ago. Therefore, he became very angry when his offering was not pleased to God. If Cain didn’t consider the products of his field should please God, he would have admit his fault humbly when he was not pleased to God. The fact was on the contrary. Therefore, Cain got very angry and put his anger on his brother Abel.

According to the record in the Genesis: while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him. In 1 John, it points out that the reason that Cain killed Abel is because of the jealous anger. The apostle exhorts the believers not to be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous (1Jo 3:12). Therefore, there are two distinct characteristics of the way of Cain, which are “self-justification” and “jealous anger”. These false teachers take the way of Cain; that is the way of “self-justification” and “jealous anger”. The “self-justification” makes them trapped in the situation without self-consciousness, such that they change the grace of God into the chance of indulgence in the sinful desires, and do not know to repent in all kinds of sins, evils and the mistakes. They boast about their false godliness. The “jealous anger” makes them to attack and slander all who belong to LORD faithfully. They dislike to see others walking in the light. They are not moved by the good deeds of others and the message of truth; instead, they nitpick, slander, and reject the words of God and those who are established by God.

(6) Balaam (11_middle)

The incidents about Balaam are recorded in (Num 22; 25:1; 31:8, 16; Jos 13:22; see also the notes of 2Pe 2:15-16). In this short sentence, we should pay special attention to the words of “rush for profit”. Here, it especially mentions Balaam’s covetousness of money, for this is the distinct character in his error. All his bad things, hypocrisy, and evil schemes came from his covetousness of money. In order to get the “profit” promised by the king of Moab, he tried for several times to get out of the control of God and to curse the Israelites (Num 24:1). He even thought of a cunning scheme to instruct the king of Moab how to lure the Israelites into sins. Balaam did get the money that he wanted, but he went to the destruction together with his money. Just as what Paul said: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many grieves.” (1Ti 6:10) Therefore, here, it says that the false teachers rush for the profit in Balaam’s error. This is saying that they make every effort to seek because of their covetousness of money; that is only a wrong way.

(7) Korah (11_latter)

Korah's rebellion is recorded in (Num 16:1-40).

The main reason that Korah rebelled against Moses was to fight for the power from Moses. He was not obedient that Moses stood above the assembly and spoke for God to pass the words to the Israelites. Korah was the Levites, but was not the priest, for God only selected Aaron and his descendents as the priests. Therefore, Korah opposed Moses and Aaron to fight for the priesthood. As a result, God destroyed those who were rebellious to Moses with plague, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed Korah and his followers alive (Num 16:30-33). Here, the citation of Korah’s rebellion is to tell us that the false teachers in the church do not obey the authority of the servants established by God. Although they themselves do not have the life, they still want to seize the leadership on the church.

This verse echoes verse 8 above “reject authority and slander celestial beings”. It is known that the proper explanation for verse 8 refers to the leader established by God in church.

In the church nowadays, the believers need to know to obey the spiritual authority (Act 5:29; Heb 13:17; Col 1:28). Indeed, we do not follow man, but follow God. However, God raise up His servants in church for the purpose to introduce the believers to God completely, and instruct them how to walk in the will of God. In fact, not all the believers know how to obey the Holy Spirit and truth right away. There are even many believers who believe in LORD for many years, yet still are not rooted and established in the truth, and are weak in faith and love. Therefore, God set the example in the church, who are advanced in spiritual life, and have basis on the knowledge of the truth in the Bible. God give them all kinds of gifts so that they can lead other believers in church to learn to obey and serve God (Eph 4:11-12). Although these people should not become our “idols”, the believers should respect them properly, respect their spiritual authority and obey them in LORD, so that the church can make progress in good disciplines (1Ti 5:17; Heb 13:17).

Reference:

1. Zhongdao Chen: “The Lectures on the Bible Studying of the Letters in New Testament”.